Stop Shady Marketing of Private Medicare to Seniors

There has been a wave of consumer complaints, specifically from seniors stating that they had been talked into private Medicare plans without being given full disclosure of its coverage and how it might even force them to change doctors. Aggressive marketing techniques by these private insurance agencies have included cold-calling, cross-selling of products, unsolicited marketing in waiting rooms and senior centers, and pushing customers to repeatedly switch plans to drive up commissions.

This raises the question as to whether the decision by the Bush administration to contract with private insurance companies was a mistake. Do the benefits of sometimes lower rates outweigh the problems stemming from shady marketing practices?